# How Balia's Pramod Sarraf Built a Haven for Cows, Birds and Rare Trees — While Employing 125 People

> Balia businessman Pramod Sarraf has turned his estate into a sanctuary for animals and medicinal plants, raising rare Gir and Shyam breed cows while providing a livelihood to 125 people.

**Type:** article · **Category:** Uttar Pradesh · **Published:** 2026-06-14 · **Source:** TrendKia
**Canonical:** https://trendkia.com/en/uttar-pradesh/baliya-ke-pramoda-sarrapha-ne-racha-prakriti-ka-anokha-snsara-gira-aura-durlabha-746 · **Language:** English
**Tags:** Balia, Pramod Sarraf, cow shelter, Gir breed cow, Shyam breed cow, love for nature, World Environment Day, medicinal plants

Some people merely celebrate their birthday; a few actually live by what it stands for. Pramod Sarraf of Balia belongs to the second kind. A successful businessman by profession, his deeper identity has become that of a genuine lover of nature and animals. Fittingly, he was born on 5 June — World Environment Day — and he has spent his life honouring the spirit of that date.

## From Jeweller to Nature Lover
Pramod Sarraf, owner of DP Jewellers, says he took early retirement under the Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS). That decision has left him with ample time, which he now pours into turning his estate into a safe refuge for greenery and wildlife. Anyone who visits walks away with a rare sense of calm after seeing the unusual animals, birds and plants gathered here.

## Gir and the Rare Shyam Breed Cows
His cow shelter is home to several breeds, chief among them the Gir breed. Alongside it lives a Shyam breed cow — a name most people have likely never heard, and one considered an extremely rare species. Pramod explains the belief behind it: Lord Krishna's father, Nand, is said to have owned lakhs of cows, yet whenever Krishna fell ill, a touch of this particular breed's tail would cure his fever or any other ailment. That same species now stands in his shelter, kept specially for worship.

## Caring for Blind and Abandoned Cattle
Pramod Sarraf is firm in his principles — he sells neither his cows nor his bulls. The calves in his shelter are kept safe as well. Going further, he personally cares for two blind cows, the kind of animals most people would abandon as a burden.

## A Home for Birds and Other Creatures
It is not only cows that live here. The estate also shelters a variety of birds and animals. Pramod keeps swans, love birds, horses, a cockatoo and rabbits, among other creatures. These bring him no financial gain, but as an animal lover, simply being among them gives him a deep sense of contentment.

## An Unusual Garden of Medicinal Plants
The garden around his home is dotted with numerous medicinal and rare plants. These include the sindoor tree, sitaphal, red sandalwood, an apple tree, sudarshan and grapes. Pramod says that if a researcher were to visit, an entire book could be written about this single place. He also claims that the very sindoor tree once mentioned by Prime Minister Modi is present in his own garden.

## A Livelihood for Hundreds of Families
Three people stay on duty at the shelter around the clock — all 365 days, 24 hours a day. In total, Pramod Sarraf has given employment to 125 people, and the operation has become the backbone of livelihood for hundreds of families. He cherishes living among cows, trees, birds and animals. Notably, he never sells milk from any of his cows — whatever exceeds the family's needs is consumed by the staff, and for worship he provides it free of cost.

## Even a Historian Was Left Astonished
The renowned historian Dr. Shivkumar Singh Kaushikey, visiting the place for the first time, was deeply moved by what he saw. He remarked that it was a pleasant surprise to find a man in Balia district with such extraordinary love for animals and the environment. He was astonished to see the many different breeds of cows being reared at the shelter. The atmosphere here, he said, is truly serene and deeply spiritual, and anyone living in such surroundings naturally draws positive energy from it.

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